Jan 25

Reference links:

Genesis 50:1-Exodus 2:10 Matthew 16:13-17:9 Psalm 21:1-13 Proverbs 5:1-6

Overview of the Book of Genesis Overview of the Book of Exodus Overview of the Gospel of Matthew Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

End of Genesis and start of Exodus today. Joseph has Jacob embalmed. A great procession is formed and he is taken back to Canaan and buried with his ancestors. One slight oddity, Joseph asks Pharaoh's advisers to ask Pharaoh to let him leave to bury his father. If Joseph is second only to Pharaoh, why does he go through intermediaries?

Joseph dies too at age 110. Finally, someone who lived less than 120 years. Joseph,

lived to see three generations of his son Ephraim, and he lived to see the birth of the children of Manasseh's son Makir, whom he claimed as his own.

Joseph adopted his son's children as his own just like Jacob adopted Joseph's children as his own. Very confusing family relations there. Before he died, Joseph made his family promise to take his bones back with them when they finally left Egypt.

Now for Exodus. First thing to note, from the Wikipedia article,

More than a century of archaeological research has discovered nothing which could support the narrative elements of the book of Exodus - the four centuries sojourn in Egypt, the escape of well over a million Israelites from the Delta, or the three months journey through the wilderness to Sinai. The Egyptian records themselves have no mention of anything recorded in Exodus, the wilderness of the southern Sinai peninsula shows no traces of a mass-migration such as Exodus describes, and virtually all the place-names mentioned, including Goshen (the area within Egypt where the Israelites supposedly lived), the store-cities of Pithom and Rameses, the site of the crossing of the Red Sea, and even Mt Sinai itself, have resisted identification. The archaeology of Palestine has equally failed to substantiate the Bible's account of the invasion of Canaan by the Israelites arriving from Egypt some forty years later - of the 31 cities supposedly conquered by Joshua, only one (Bethel) shows a destruction level that equates to the Biblical narrative, and there is general agreement that the origins of Israel lie within Canaan itself. Even those scholars who hold the Exodus to represent historical truth concede that the most the evidence can suggest is plausibility.

Exodus starts off with an inconsistency (either in translation or in the source). Remember how a couple days ago we learned that Jacob's family came to 70 people, including himself. Today we read,

In all, Jacob had seventy descendants in Egypt, including Joseph, who was already there. [emphasis mine]

A new king comes to power in Egypt. He fears the strength of the people of Israel and so makes them his slaves. However, slavery did not stem the growth of the population, so Pharaoh gave an order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah,

When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.

If the number of people of Israel has really grown enough to be a threat to the people of Egypt, would they really only have two midwives? In any case, the midwives did not comply, so eventually Pharaoh made a law that all newborn Hebrew boys should be thrown into the Nile river. This is another unlikely command. The Nile was the life blood of Egypt. Would a Pharaoh with any sense really command that this river be contaminated with dead bodies?

In any case, one of the babies born is Moses. His mother puts him in a basket in the river and Pharaoh's daughter finds him. The princess sends baby Moses to nurse with his own mother. He is taken back to the princess when he is older.

New Testament

Jesus asks his disciples who he is. Simon Peter says he is the Messiah. Because of this answer, Jesus blesses him and says that he will be the foundation of Jesus' church. In addition, Jesus tells Peter

Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.

This is a very odd verse. One way to interpret this would be to say that Peter is being blessed with the ability to say what is right and wrong with a way that is consistent with the decrees of heaven. However, the use of future tense almost makes it sound like Peter, through his decrees, will be changing heaven.

Jesus predicts his death and that he will be raised from the dead. Peter reprimands him for saying such things, and Jesus calls him Satan and accuses him of "seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's." Now, this should probably be interpreted as commentary on human knowledge and God's plans and what not. However, what I find interesting is that just after Jesus praises and blesses Peter, Jesus calls Peter Satan. I think that instead of interpreting the previous passage as Jesus giving Peter authority from God, we should interpret it as Jesus being fond of hyperbole when talking to his followers.

We also read a verse that supports the view that Jesus was a failed apocalyptic prophet. Jesus says,

For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds. And I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.

Jesus has not yet come with angels to judge all people. Everyone who was alive at the time of that statement is dead. Jesus was wrong.

Today we also read about how Jesus was transformed into a much shinier version of himself and was chatting with Moses and Elijah. And then,

a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him."

We had a somewhat similar event in Matthew 3,

After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy."

Did this happen twice? Or was the author of Matthew just including multiple versions of the same event?

Psalms and Proverbs

Another psalm about war, more images of an angry God. Today's reading from Proverbs is much more interesting. We are warned that

the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey,
and her mouth is smoother than oil.
But in the end she is as bitter as poison,
as dangerous as a double-edge sword.

So remember, avoid those immoral women.

Jan 24

Reference links:

Genesis 48:1-49:33 Matthew 15:29-16:12 Psalm 20:1-9 Proverbs 4:20-27

Overview of the Book of Genesis Overview of the Gospel of Matthew Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

The patriarchs do not like normal, straight forward blessings. In today's reading, Jacob blesses Joseph's sons Manasseh and Ephraim, adopting them as his own children. When he goes to bless the children, he intentionally puts his right hand on the head of Ephraim, the younger son, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, the older son. Joseph tries to correct his father, but Jacob insists on giving Manasseh the greater blessing.

After completing that blessing, Jacob calls all his sons together and gives them a final blessing and makes prophecies about their future. Jacob outlines the destiny of the tribe of Israel descended from each son, showing how the traits of the tribes derive from the traits of the sons who found them. Knowing that the author of Genesis composed the book long after the time these events occurred, it seems more likely that the traits of the brothers are being filled in from the personalities of the tribes.

Jacob finishes blessing his sons, makes it clear that he wants to be buried in the cave where Abraham and Sara, Isaac and Rebekah lie. Then he dies.

New Testament

Today, Jesus heals more people and then feeds 4000 more men (plus women and children). This time he used seven loaves and a few fish. He may have shared fish as well as bread, the text is ambiguous. The two stories share many similarities. In both cases, Jesus has been healing people, he discusses the issue of food with the disciples, they possess a small amount of food, Jesus blesses the food, and the food is shared among thousands of people (with leftovers). The redundancy itself does not show that this is the same legend told twice. Jesus may very well have needed to feed crowds multiple times.

The redundancy shows little. However, the disciples reaction the second time surprises me. Despite the fact that Jesus had already fed 5000 with five loaves and two fish, the disciples ask,

Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?

Do they not remember what happened before? Did they think it was some sort of trick and Jesus did not actually perform a miracle? Or maybe, just maybe, one story grew into two slightly different legends, and the author of Matthew decided to include both.

Jesus gets annoyed at the Pharisees and Sadducees for wanting a miraculous sign to prove his authority. On the one hand, you have to have sympathy for Jesus' annoyance; he has been performing miracles left and right (well, if the accounts of his own followers are to be believed). On the other hand, Jesus claims authority from God. You bet that I would demand some pretty good evidence before believing that of anyone. Of course, some would say that is why I am destined for hell.

Psalms and Proverbs

The psalms fascinate me. They contain so many verses that are familiar in a context that is completely unfamiliar.

In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry.
May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.

May he send you help from his santuary
and strengthen you from Jerusalem.

May he remember all your gifts
and look favorably on your burnt offerings

I believe I have seen the first before two lines quoted reasonably often, probably on greeting cards or something. But we never hear the rest about Jerusalem and burnt offerings. There is nothing wrong with those verses, but like much of the Bible, they just are no longer relevant outside of their historical context.

Some decent advice in todays Proverbs reading.

Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.
Avoid all perverse talk;
stay away from corrupt speech.

Look straight ahead,
and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
Mark out a straight path for your feed;
stay on the safe path.
Don't get sidetracked;
keep your feed from following evil.

I do believe that what we hear and say influences us and what we say reflects our true beliefs. A single event may not mean much (there have even been jokes making fun of women that I have laughed at). However, when we hear or say "perverse" things regularly, I believe they do influence on what we believe in our hearts.

I also agree that most of us could benefit from more focus in our lives. Not to keep us from evil, I do not agree with the Biblical view that evil lurks around every corner. But we need focus to keep from getting distracted from our goals.

That said, you can also take such focus too far. If you never take a glance to the side, if you never take a risk or try another path, you may lose out on life changing opportunities.

Jan 23

Reference links:

Genesis 46:1-47:31 Matthew 15:1-28 Psalm 19:1-14 Proverbs 4:14-19

Overview of the Book of Genesis Overview of the Gospel of Matthew Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Jacob and his family go to Egypt. God talks to Jacob again, saying

I will go with you down to Egypt

All the English translations on Bible Gateway share the sense that God is going with the Jacob to Egypt. If you are on the lookout for indications that the Biblical God started out as a tribal God who morphed into a universal God overtime, this passage sticks out. I would expect a universal God to say "I will be with you in Egypt", not "I will go with you down to Egypt".

Another long genealogy. We learn that two of Benjamin's sons were Muppim and Huppim. I wonder if kids then made fun of siblings with rhyming names like they would today. Also, the text seems to make a big deal out of the fact that Jacob's family numbered 70 in Egypt, so, for the record, Jacob, his sons, and their children came to 70 people.

The famine continues, and food becomes more scare. I was wrong a few days ago when I  believed that Joseph was giving grain to the people of Egypt and selling it to people from foreign lands. Today we learn that Joseph had been selling the grain to both the people of Egypt and the people of Canaan.

By selling grain to the people, Joseph eventually collected all the money in Egypt and Canaan, and he put the money is Pharaoh's treasury.

Once the people had no more money, they give Joseph their livestock, and he eventually makes them Pharaoh's slaves.

So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold him their fields because the famine was so severe, and soon all the land belonged to Pharaoh. As for the people, he made them all slaves, from one end of Egypt to the other. The only land he did not buy was the land belonging to the priests.

However, we also learn that the slavery was really more like serfdom. Joseph would provide them with grain to plant and eat and they would provide 1/5 of their crop back to Pharaoh. Still not a great thing for Joseph to do, but better than what modern minds assume when they hear the world "slavery".

Joseph's family is doing just fine. They acquire property and grow in numbers. I guess it helps to be the family of the man who is second only to Pharaoh. Jacob is still living, and we learn that he will live to be 147 years old and die in Egypt. Getting closer to 120, but still not there yet. Jacob makes Joseph promise to bury Jacob in the land of Canaan with his ancestors.

New Testament

The Pharisees ask Jesus why his disciples do not participate in the tradition of ceremonial hand washing before eating. Jesus starts going on about inner purity verses outer purity. However, what is not made clear is whether or not Jesus' disciples wash their hands at all before eating. I sure hope so.

Good hygiene aside, we have another supposed fulfilled prophecy. Jesus claims that the hypocrisy of the Pharisees fulfilled a prophecy from Isaiah:

These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.

Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.

This fulfilled prophecy fares better than most, but still does not do great. In context (Isaiah 29:13), the statement is part of an actual prophecy. However, fulfilling this prophecy fails to impress. It is too general. You could say that it applied to some modern Christian denominations and be just as close (which group you think it should be applied to will, of course, depend on which group you are a part of).

Today a Gentile woman asks Jesus for help. They have the following exchange.

Jesus said to the woman, "I was sent only to help God's lost sheep -- the people of Israel."

But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, "Lord, help me!"

Jesus responded, "It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs."

She replied, "That's true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters' table."

"Dear woman," Jesus said to her, "your faith is great. Your request is granted. And her daughter was instantly healed.

What is going on here? Does Jesus really believe that he has been sent to only help Jews? Was the Roman officer he helped in Matthew 8 a Jew? Did Jesus change his mind on helping non-Jews because of this woman? If so, what are the theological consequences of God incarnate changing his mind? Was Jesus testing the woman's faith, planning on healing her daughter the whole time? This passage is very confusing.

Psalms and Proverbs

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.

Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.

They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.

The skies certainly put one in touch with the numinous, and this is something we can all experience. I cannot fault who conclude from this feeling of the transcendent that there must exist some sort of being greater than ourselves. However, not everyone has those feelings, and those feelings are certainly not sufficient to help one conclude which, if any, of the versions of God is the true one.

Here are a couple of passages from today's psalm that will seem quite hilarious once we get to Leviticus.

The commands of the Lord are clear,
giving insight for living.

and

The laws of the Lord are true;
each one is fair.

Today's reading from Proverbs implies that the world that can be divided into the "righteous" and  the "wicked". You are, of course, supposed to avoid doing as the wicked do.

For evil people can't sleep until they've done their evil deed for the day.
They can't rest until they've caused someone to stumble.

The proverbs certainly seem to reinforce the belief held by some modern Christians that anyone who is not a Christian is evil and is actively working against Christianity (which is synonymous with good).

Jan 22

Reference links:

Genesis 44:1-45:28 Matthew 14:13-36 Psalm 18:37-50 Proverbs 4:11-13

Overview of the Book of Genesis Overview of the Gospel of Matthew Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Joseph seems to want to mess with his brothers' minds. Yesterday, he gave them a great feast. Today, he sends them back home without revealing his identity. Instead, he once again puts the brothers' money back in their sacks. Additionally, he has his silver cup added to Benjamin's sack. After the brothers have left, he sends his palace manager after them to accuse them of stealing the cup. They return to Joseph's palace, believing Joseph will make Benjamin his slave. Joseph spends awhile berating them. Eventually, Judah makes an impassioned plea asking that he be made a slave instead of Benjamin. At this, Joseph finally gives in to his emotions and reveals himself to his brothers. They are amazed.

Now, at this point, everyone seems happy, and Joseph invites his whole family to come live with him in Egypt. I wonder if Joseph's brothers were really as happy about the whole situation as they seemed to be. Joseph acted like a jerk toward them when they came to Egypt. They are starving and now know that the famine is predicted to last five more years. Furthermore, they see that Joseph is in a position of great prosperity and power. I think that no matter how big of a jerk he had been, they would have no choice but to pretend to be happy.

Also, today's text has another odd redundancy. Joseph invites his family to come live in Egypt with him. A few passages later, Pharaoh also extends the invitation. The text makes it seem like Pharaoh extended this independently of Joseph's. Not a glaring redundancy like some of the other ones we have seen, but it was enough to make me pause while reading.

New Testament

Jesus feeds 5000 men plus an unspecified number of women and children with five loaves of bread and two fish. Actually, contrary to common belief, he only feeds them the bread.

Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people.

Maybe cooking the fish was too much effort? Maybe Jesus wanted the fish all for himself?

Today must be miracle day in the readings because the night after distributing the bread, Jesus sends his disciples off in a boat while he prays. A storm comes up and he comes to the disciples walking, as we all know, on the water. He calls Peter to him and Peter comes until he gets scared and starts sinking.

I feel like I ought to have something skeptical to say about these miracles. However, I do not really mind the accounts of miracles performed by Jesus. I do not think the accounts are true, but I am willing to concede that if the Bible were a reliable source of information, I would be willing to give it the benefit of the doubt to claims that an individual performed miracles.

Instead, the skeptical side of me comes up when I read the passages that show that the Bible is not a reliable source of information. And such passages abound. The Bible makes incorrect claims about the world and our scientific knowledge (an olive tree could form leaves shortly after being deeply submerged, the earth was created before the sun). The Bible makes claims that are unlikely or that fail to be internally consistent (Noah was able to gather all the world's creatures into an ark, the long life spans before the flood, inconsistent versions of the same event, two creation stories). These passages show that the Bible is not a good source of information, and that is why I reject the descriptions of Jesus' miracles, not because of an a priori assumption that the miraculous occurrences are impossible.

Psalms and Proverbs

Today's psalm is about how David destroyed his enemies. Good for him? David does provide us with a couple of good lines.

I ground them as fine as dust in the wind.
I swept them into the gutter like dirt.

It is not such a great sentiment, but it is a great description of complete destruction where the conqueror feels nothing but disdain for the conquered. Today's reading from the psalms also has a couple of lines that I am guessing certain vindictive types of Christians find great joy in:

He is the God who pays back those who harm me;
he subdues the nations under me.

There are certainly those who give more weight to this vengeful, violent God than to the idea that God is Love.   Of course, they have something going for them. So far the vengeful God seems to have more Biblical support than a God of love (but a tribal God of limited power seems to have the most Biblical support of all).

Jan 21

Reference links:

Genesis 42:18-43:34 Matthew 13:47-14:12 Psalm 18:16-36 Proverbs 4:7-10

Overview of the Book of Genesis Overview of the Gospel of Matthew Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Having imprisoned his brothers for three days, Joseph releases them on the condition that they return with Benjamin and leave behind Simeon. Joseph sells the brothers grain and they leave for home, minus Simeon. Without their knowledge, he has their payment for the grain returned to their sacks. As far as I can figure, Joseph does this just to mess with his brothers' heads. Any better ideas?

Some textual analysis. Scholars currently believe that Genesis came from multiple sources, although there is disagreement as to the nature of those sources.  Sometimes the different texts are stitched together well enough that a reader reading a translation and not paying super close attention will not notice the seams. In today's reading, we see a seam.

The text has two versions of how Joseph's brothers discover that he returned their money to them. The first version has them find it on their way home:

When they stopped for the night and one of them opened his sack to get grain  for his donkey, he found his money in the top of his sack. "Look!" he exclaimed to his brothers. "My money has been returned; it's here in my sack!" Then their hearts sank. Trembling, they said to each other, "What had God done to us?"

The second version has them find it after they return home and have told their father what happened in Egypt:

As they emptied out their sacks, there in each man's sack was the bag of money he had paid for the grain! The brothers and their father were terrified when they saw the bags of money.

It is possible that after one brother found the money in the first sack, the rest of the brothers did not bother to look in their own sack. Thus, when they found even more returned money, they were even more terrified. But that does not seem plausible. Furthermore, the brothers had been telling their father about the trip just before the second discovery. They did not mention their first discovery at the time. Assuming that these are just two inconsistent tellings of the same discovery provides a simpler explanation.

In any case, upon seeing the money, Jacob assumes Simeon must remain a prisoner forever. He refuses to let them take Benjamin back to Egypt. But the famine continues and eventually the men have to go to Egypt again to avoid starvation. They bring Benjamin, goods of the land, and twice the money they paid before (so they can return that which had been returned to them).

Joseph calls the brothers to his own home. They fear that

he will seize [them], make [them] slaves, and take [their] donkeys

I found this statement hilarious. They will be seized, made slaves, and have their donkeys taken. I personally would not bother worrying about the donkeys at that point.

Instead, Joseph prepares a feast for him. But he has not yet revealed himself.

New Testament

One more parable in today's reading: the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net. After pulling up the net full of different fish, the good fish are kept and the bad fish discarded. Once again, this parable supports a view that whether or not one will be saved depends on some unchangeable essence of your self. An individual does not have any influence on the outcome.

In today's reading, Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth. He taught and performed miracles in the synagogue. The people were amazed, but then scoffed saying,

He's just the carpenter's son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers -- James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things? And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.

In response, Jesus says

"A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family. "

Jesus makes a good point that often those who know you best who make the worst judgments. They tend to overstate your accomplishments or fail to give them the weight they are due. We also learn  that Jesus had brothers and sisters. This seems like something of a sticking point for the Catholic belief that Mary always remained a virgin. (Do Catholics still believe that?)

Today's reading describes the death of John the Baptist. Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, had him killed. Herod Antipas and his wife, Herodias, rather disliked John because he said their marriage is invalid, but Herod did not want to kill John because he feared the response of the people. One night, he promises his daughter anything she wants after she performed a particularly pleasing dance at a party. Her mother persuades her to ask for John the Baptist's head on a platter. Not wanting to go back on his promise, Herod gives in and has John beheaded and his head delivered. Eww.

Psalms and Proverbs

Today's psalm is a continuation of yesterday's. It will be continued tomorrow. Something about these lines captures my imagination:

He reached down from heaven and rescued me;
he drew me out of deep waters.

As for the rest, the psalmist says more of the same old same old: he has been faithful to God and that is why God is faithful to him.

In today's proverbs reading, like in yesterday's reading, we read more about the importance of getting wisdom. I got it. Can we move on to actual wisdom now?

Jan 20

Reference links:

• Genesis 41:17-42:17
• Matthew 13:24-46
• Psalm 18:1-15
• Proverbs 4:1-6

• Overview of the Book of Genesis
• Overview of the Gospel of Matthew
• Overview of the Psalms
• Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Yesterday, Pharaoh dreamed of seven healthy cows being eaten by seven sickly cows and seven full heads of wheat being consumed by seven scrawny one. Not surprisingly, Joseph interprets these dreams. Joseph tells Pharaoh that the dreams mean that Egypt will have seven years of prosperity followed by seven years of famine. Joseph tells Pharaoh he should find someone to manage the collection of food during the years of prosperity. Again not surprisingly, Pharaoh decides that Joseph fits the bill perfectly. Apparently, being able to interpret dreams qualifies you for managing a kingdom.

Pharaoh makes Joseph second only to himself, and Joseph takes care of collecting grain in the good years. In the meantime, he lives a pretty good life. Amongst other things, Pharaoh gives Joseph a wife, Asenath daughter of Potiphera. Just in case you are confused, Potiphera is not the same person as Potiphar, Pharaoh's captain of the guard and Joseph's former employer.

As predicted, seven years of plenty are followed by seven years of famine. Fortunately for the people of Egypt, Joseph opens the storehouse to give grain to the Egyptians and sell it to people from surrounding countries. Here we get a interesting bit of perspective. The author of Genesis says,

And people from all around came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe around the world.

Like with the idea of a world wide flood (Genesis 7) or the idea that the devil could  take Jesus to a high mountain and see all the kingdoms of the world (Matthew 4), this passage shows that the Biblical authors did not have a very good idea of the size of the earth and all of the kingdoms it contained.

The famine reaches Joseph's family. Jacob sends his sons to Egypt to get grain. Joseph recognizes his brothers, but they do not recognize them. He accuses them of being spies and forces them to bring back Benjamin, the youngest brother and the only one who had not gone on the trip. Joseph throws them in prison for three days. And then, another cliff hanger!

I do have to say that I like this part of Genesis because it reads like a story. Much more interesting than many parts of the Bible.

New Testament

Today is the day of parables in the new testament.

Parable of the wheat and weeds: A farmer plants seeds. In the night, an enemy plants weeds with the seeds. The farmers say the weeds should stay until harvest time. When they have grown up, they will be harvested. The weeds will be burned and the wheat stored away.

According to Jesus, he is the farmer, the good seeds are the people who will go to heaven. The enemy is the devil, the bad seeds are those who will go to hell. One lesson to take from this is that those who are not going to heaven are bad from the outset. A weed is always a weed and has no chance to grow into wheat.

Parable of the mustard seed: The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed. A mustard seed is smaller than other seeds. It grows into a plant large enough for birds to build nests in. How can we interpret this? At a individual level, it could mean that a little bit of faith will grow into great rewards in heaven. Or maybe it is meant to be taken on an institutional level. The small religion Jesus was "planting" would grow into a large one.

Parable of the yeast: It only takes a little yeast to permeate bread.  This seems to yield similar interpretations to the mustard seed.

Parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl: A dude finds a treasure in a field and sells everything he owns to buy the field. A merchant is searching for pearls and finds one of great value and so sells everything he buys to get it. We learn that it is worth giving up all you have for something of greater value.  The implication here is that the ultimate reward is Heaven. However, the difference between the Kingdom of Heaven and a perfect pearl or a hidden treasure is that you can evaluate the worth of the latter two to see whether or not they are worth the sacrifice. You cannot even verify that the Kingdom of Heaven is real.

By telling all of these parables, Jesus supposedly fulfills the prophecy

I will speak to you in parables.
I will explain things hidden since the creation of the world.

Two problems with this supposed fulfilled prophecy. First, it is from a psalm (psalms are not prophecies). In context:

O my people, listen to my instructions.
Open your ears to what I am saying,
for I will speak to you in a parable.
I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—
stories we have heard and known,
stories our ancestors handed down to us.

Granting that "hidden lessons from our past" is kind of like "things hidden since the creation of the world", the psalm still implies that the the parables will be new lessons from old, well known stories. I have never heard that the parables Jesus tells in the new testament are based on traditional stories.

The second problem is that if Jesus was going to go to the effort to explain "things hidden since the creation of the world", he could have included some more impressive things. Some indication of the deep truths of astronomy or physics or biology perhaps. We do not need a text book, but something would have been nice.

Psalms and Proverbs

Today's psalm has a very anthropomorphic description of God. I will give it an easier time here than I would elsewhere since the psalms are poetry, but it is still interesting. Imagine the following verses to be read in a big, dramatic voice.

Smoke poured from his nostrils;
fierce flames leaped from his mouth.
Glowing coals blazed forth from him.

He opened the heavens and came down;
dark storm clouds were beneath his feet.

Mounted on a mighty angelic being, he flew,
souring on the wings of the wind.

He shrouded himself in darkness,
veiling his approach with dark rain clouds.

Thick clouds shielded the brightness around him
and rained down hail and burning coals.

The Lord thundered form heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded
amid the hail and burning coals.

He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies;
his lightening flashed and they were greatly confused.

I  will also note that this is the same psalm that also contains the fairly well quoted verse, "The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower" (KJV). Funny how that part is quoted buy the part about shooting arrows and smoking nostrils is left out.

Jan 19

Reference links:

• Genesis 39:1-41:16
• Matthew 12:46-13:23
• Psalm 17:1-15
• Proverbs 3:33-35

• Overview of the Book of Genesis
• Overview of the Gospel of Matthew
• Overview of the Psalms
• Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

In yesterday's reading, slave traders sold Joseph to Potiphar, the captain of the guard for Pharaoh. Because God is with Joseph, Joseph prospers in all that he does. Potiphar eventually gives him administrative control of the household. But the good life does not last. Joseph, "a very handsome and well-built young man," attracted the interest of Potiphar's wife . She tried to get him to sleep with her. He refused, so eventually she told her husband that Joseph had slept with her so that Joseph would be thrown in prison. Soap opera! (As a side note, it was impossible to find a "licensed for reuse" image where Joseph was actually handsome.  Pity.)

Even in prison, Joseph prospers. The warden soon puts him in charge of the other prisoners and the day-to-day activities of the prison. Now, God may or may not have been with Joseph, but I think we can conclude that he was certainly a good manager and probably rather charismatic.

Eventually Joseph meets two of Pharaoh's servants. These servants were put in the palace of the captain guard (remember, that's Potiphar). According to the text,

They remained in prison for quite some time, and the captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, who looked after them.

This makes it sound like it was Potiphar who was giving Joseph responsibility. This seems weird given that he was the one who threw Joseph in prison. Maybe he really did like Joseph but did not want to anger his wife by freeing him from prison. Or maybe the text is just confused. This does not seem unlikely since in this part of the text the captain of the guard is always referred to by title and not by name.

In any case, Joseph correctly interprets dreams for the two prisoners. Pharaoh executes one prisoner and returns the other to his job as cup-bearer. Two years later, Pharaoh starts having weird dreams. None of his magicians or wise men can tell him what they mean. Now, I am no expert in ancient Egyptian magicians and wise men, but I do know that in modern America, plenty of people would be willing to make up interpretations for dreams and one of them would make a guess good enough to convince Pharaoh. This is especially true when you consider that Pharaoh's dreams were not that opaque: 7 healthy cows were eaten by 7 sickly cows and 7 full grain stalks were eaten by 7 scrawny ones (click through to the full sized pictures; it has cows eating each other).

In any case, the cup-bearer remembers Joseph, and Pharaoh calls Joseph into his presence. Will Joseph interpret Pharaoh's dreams? We will have to wait until tomorrow to see.

New Testament

Today Jesus took advantage of a visit from his mother and brothers to claim that his true mothers and brothers are those who follow the will of his Father in heaven. It is not reported whether or not Jesus subsequently went out to speak with his biological mother and brothers. If you assumed he did not, then there are some good opportunities for fan fic. Had he had a falling out with them? Was he accusing them of not following God or his religion? Did they think he was crazy? Were they trying to get him to come home again? Such possibilities!

Today we hear the parable of the farmer and the seeds. A farmer throws out some seed.. Some landed on the footpath and were eaten by birds. Some sprouted in shallow soil and wilted quickly. Some fell among thorns and were crowded out. Some fell and fertile soil and were productive. These stand for, respectively, those who heard Jesus and did not understand, those who listen but soon fall away, those who listen but whose beliefs are crowded out by life, and, finally, those who "truly hear and understand God's word". A parable should not be interpreted too literally, but I do think that this parable can yield an interesting interpretation.

In particular, the location that received the seed had no choice in its nature and no ability to change. Dirt cannot make itself fertile. A foot path cannot choose to become a field. A weedy area cannot will the weeds away. If we take this to be part of the lesson Jesus is trying to teach, this supports a predestination style interpretation of salvations. That is to say, those who are saved have no choice in that matter. The ability to believe and persist in belief is part of one's nature as shaped by God.

Today we read another passage in the arsenal of those who argue that non-believers are unqualified to read and understand the Bible.

To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use these parables,

For they look, but they don't really see.
They hear, but they don't really listen or understand.

This passage is often interpreted to mean that faith must proceed understanding. But God would be silly to make revelation of his existence and of his son's divinity work this way. Presumably, a God who created humanity would understand human psychology. A God who understood human psychology would realize that humans are subject to confirmation bias: they interpret their experiences to support their existing beliefs. Therefore, any belief system that requires belief before it can be understood will inevitably keep company with the countless false belief systems that have persisted despite their obvious incorrectness.

More supposed fulfilled prophecies. Jesus claims that the bit above about looking and not really seeing fulfilles a prophecy from Isaiah 6:9-10. First, let's look at the quoted passage.

‘When you hear what I say,
you will not understand.
When you see what I do,
you will not comprehend.
For the hearts of these people are hardened,
and their ears cannot hear,
and they have closed their eyes—
so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
and let me heal them.

The author of Matthew is quoting from the Greek version. Not unreasonable perhaps, but interesting given that the passage reads rather differently in a translation from the Hebrew, quoted below with verse 8 added for context

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

And he said, “Yes, go, and say to this people,

‘Listen carefully, but do not understand.
Watch closely, but learn nothing.’
Harden the hearts of these people.
Plug their ears and shut their eyes.
That way, they will not see with their eyes,
nor hear with their ears,
nor understand with their hearts
and turn to me for healing.”

Two things to notice: First, as I mentioned above, the translation from Hebrew reads very differently from the translation from Greek. Now, I would not be surprised if a regular human authoring a book made this sort of mistake. However, I am rather surprised to see such a mistake in a work that is supposed to be divinely inspired. You would think divine inspiration would include being able to see where existing translations were inaccurate. Second, this passage is about the prophet Isaiah and what he has been instructed to do. It is not a prophecy about some future messiah. To apply it to Jesus stretches my credulity.

Psalms and Proverbs

Nothing of particular note today.

Jan 18

Reference links:

• Genesis 37:1-38:30
• Matthew 12:22-45
• Psalm 16:1-11
• Proverbs 3:27-32

• Overview of the Book of Genesis
• Overview of the Gospel of Matthew
• Overview of the Psalms
• Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Jacob favors Joseph "because Joseph had been born to him in his old age." This made Joseph's brother's jealous. I wonder if Jacob also favored Benjamin since Benjamin was born to Jacob after Joseph was born.

The brothers' anger increases when Joseph starts having strange dreams. In the first dream, he sees them bundling grain together. His bundle stands up while his brothers' bundles bow. He then dreams that the sun, moon, and eleven stars bow down before him (I would imagine they bob more than bow). The implication is that Joseph, the second youngest of twelve sons, will somehow gain power over his brothers. They dislike the idea, not surprisingly.

One day, Joseph's brothers are pasturing sheep. Jacob sends Joseph to report on the flocks. When Joseph's brothers see him coming, they plot to kill him. Reuben, the oldest, convinces them to just throw Joseph in a cistern and let him die naturally (but Reuben really planned to come back and rescue Joseph). Joseph's brothers execute this plan, but then take advantage of a passing caravan of traders and sell Joseph into slavery. The traders eventually sell Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of the Pharaoh. The brothers dip Joseph's robe in blood and presented it to their father. Jacob then mourns deeply for his favorite son.

We then take a brief break from that story to read about Judah and Tamar. Judah was the fourth son of Jacob and Leah. Bad luck plagues him. He married a Canaanite woman and had three sons with her. The oldest son, Er, marries Tamar. But the Lord considered Er to be wicked and killed him. Judah then forced his second son, Onan, to marry Tamar and produce an heir for Er (tee hee, "heir for Er"). Onan thought this arrangement sucked and so pulled out early whenever he had sex with Tamar (remember, it's the Bible being explicit, not me). God thought this was evil of Onan and so killed him too. I think that is rather evil of God.

Judah sent Tamar back home, promising to marry her to his third son when he is older. However, he intended to break his promise because he did not want his third son to die. Tamar eventually figured this out, and decided to take matters into her own hands. She fooled Judah into thinking she was a prostitute and got pregnant by him. When Judah finds out that Tamar was pregnant, he declared that she should be burned to death. However, she had been clever and had proof that he had slept with her. This convinced Judah that Tamar is righteous because apparently it is okay to sleep with your father-in-law if he does not arrange for you to marry his last son. In any case, she gives birth to twins and Judah never sleeps with her again.

New Testament

Jesus heals another demon possessed man and people start to wonder if he is the Messiah. The Pharisees think that Jesus gets his power to cast out demons from Satan. Jesus makes a good point when he responds

Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart.

Sadly, he follows this up with a terrible point.

Anyone who isn't with me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me.

So remember, if you do not explicitly support Jesus, you are his enemy. In the same line, Jesus goes on to condemn anyone who does not listen to him or who wants him to actually demonstrate evidence for his claims of being able to do miraculous claims. Jesus apparently hated skeptics.

Psalms and Proverbs

Keep me safe, Oh God,
for I have come to you for refuge.

I wonder how often that verse has been cried out by those is despair only to have their hopes crushed, their refuge refused? In any case, today's psalm presents a different message from the psalms we were considering the other day. Instead of doubt being the centerpiece, hope takes a central position. For those who actually believe the Bible, this must be a lovely song of praise.

More good moral lessons in the proverbs:

Do not withhold good from those who deserve it
when it's in your power to help them.
If you can help your neighbor now, don't say,
"Come back tomorrow, and then I'll help you."

Yesterday, I commented on Jesus' teachings about healing on the Sabbath. I claimed that Jesus did not make a very strong case for allowing it. He could have done a much better job if he had quoted the verses above. Those verses provide clear cut instructions that it is better to do good now than later.

Also, don't plot against your neighbor or pick fights or copy the ways of violent people.

Jan 17

Reference links:

• Genesis 35:1-36:43
• Matthew 12:1-21
• Psalm 15:1-5
• Proverbs 3:21-26

• Overview of the Book of Genesis
• Overview of the Gospel of Matthew
• Overview of the Psalms
• Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Jacob returns to Bethel. Remember when Jacob fled Esau and Jacob dreamed of God? Bethel was the place that occurred. Upon arriving at Bethel, Jacob talks with God again.

God appeared to [Jacob] again at Bethel. God blessed him, saying, "Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel." So God renamed him Israel.

God renamed Jacob in yesterday's reading. Why do it again?

Also confusing, it seems that Jacob names Bethel again. Jacob named it the first time when fleeing from Esau.

The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. He named that place Bethel (which means "house of God"), although the nearby village was Luz.

In today's reading we read,

Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. Then he poured wine over it as an offering to God an anointed the pillar with olive oil.And Jacob named the place Bethel (which means "house of God"), because God had spoken with him there.

He named it Bethel again? Looks like another case of trying to reconcile conflicting oral traditions.

Rachel dies after giving birth to Jacob's last son, Benjamin. She had to give birth while they were travelling. This would have been hard in the best of circumstances, but was likely made harder because of Rachel's age (at the youngest, I figure she was nearly 40). She was buried on the way to Ephrath. Jacob returns to his father Isaac. Isaac dies at 180 and is buried by Jacob and Esau (for the record, 180 is greater than 120).

After Isaac's death we read that

Esau took his wives, his children, and his entire household, along with his livestock and cattle -- all the wealth he had acquired in the land of Canaan -- and moved away from his brother, Jacob. There was not enough land to support them both because of all the livestock and possessions they had acquired. So Esau (also known as Edom) settled in the hill country of Seir.

More ambiguity. Yesterday's readings implied that Esau was already living in Seir. Esau met Jacob as he was returning from his time with Laban. He then invited Jacob to his home in Seir. Today, we read that Esau moved to Seir after Jacob's return and Isaac's death. Which is it?

The rest of today's reading is genealogies. Boring, boring, genealogies.

New Testament

Have you ever played Agricola? If not, I recommend it. In Agricola, you have to feed your family. Grain counts as one food (this is just about the worst way to use your grain). In any case, today Jesus provides precedent for eating raw grain. He and disciples eat grain in the field on the Sabbath. This, of course, makes the Pharisees rather angry. Jesus justifies his actions by reminding them that David ate bread reserved for priests. But really, I just wanted to mention Agricola.

The Pharisees want to find a way to bring charges against Jesus. They ask Jesus if it is right to heal on the Sabbath. Jesus points out that people would rescue a sheep that fell in a well on the Sabbath. Since people are more valuable than sheep, it is okay to heal them on the Sabbath. He then heals a man with a deformed hand.

Now I am not against healing on the Sabbath. If you can perform miraculous healings, perform them any day of the week. However, I do have to quibble a bit with Jesus' logic. I think that Jesus' analogy shows that it is okay to heal on the Sabbath if to do otherwise would result in death. But it does not necessarily follow that it is permissible to perform miraculous healings that could have been done just as well the next day.

More supposedly fulfilled prophecies. Today's prophecy is reasonable with respect to the original context. However, it seems inconsistent with the Jesus we saw the past couple days.

Look at my Servant, whom I have chosen.
He is my Beloved, who pleases me.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
He will not fight or shout
or raise his voice in public.
He will not crush the weakest reed
or put out a flickering candle.
Finally he will cause justice to be victorious.
And his name will be the hope of all the world.

Does this sound like the same Jesus who comes "not to bring peace, but a sword"? Who comes to set father against son, mother against daughter?

Psalms and Proverbs

Lesson's from today's psalm: speak the truth, do what is right, don't gossip, don't harm your neighbors, despise sinners, honor the faithful followers of the Lord, keep promises, don't charge interest when you lend money, don't take bribes and lie. Other than the bit about honoring faithful followers of the Lord and despising sinners, not bad advice.

Another good bit of advice from today's Proverbs reading,

My child, don't lose sight of common sense and discernment.
Hang on to them,
for they will refresh your soul.

However, a few lines later we get some verses that are either wrong or deeply disturbing

You need not be afraid of sudden disaster
or the destruction that comes upon the wicked,
for the Lord is your security.
He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.

Why is this either wrong or disturbing? Because bad things do happen to good people. Bad things happen to those who trust in the Lord for their security. Thus, either this statement is false or we can join the ilks of despicable folks like Pat Robertson who assume that disaster indicates that the one harmed was not doing right in the eyes of God.

Jan 16

Reference links:

• Genesis 32:13-34:31
• Matthew 11:7-30
• Psalm 14:1-7
• Proverbs 3:19-20

• Overview of the Book of Genesis
• Overview of the Gospel of Matthew
• Overview of the Psalms
• Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

The night before Jacob and Esau meet, Jacob encounters a man and wrestles him till dawn. As dawn approaches, the man touches Jacob's hip and wrenches it out of its socket. Jacob still does not let the man go and demands a blessing. After asking Jacob his name, the man replies with his blessing,

"Your name will no longer be Jacob," the man told him. "From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won."

Jacob wrestled with God! God seems to walk around in human form fairly often (now, before Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, in Eden). God in this human form was matched evenly by Jacob (unless God let Jacob win). As we progress through the Old Testament and through the new, we see God becoming more abstract. God is more concrete for authors describing events far in their past. God is more abstract for authors describing events nearer to their present. (Note for those who think God == Jesus, I am referring specifically to God the Father, not Jesus.)

In any case, Esau welcomes Jacob. But Jacob is still wary of Esau. Instead of going with Esau back to Seir (as he was invited to do), Jacob goes to Succoth and finally settles near Shechem. As far as today's text tells us, Jacob snubs his brother and never visits him.

We read a terrible story today about Jacob's time in Shechem. Jacob and Leah's daughter Dinah is raped by Shechem, the local prince. He falls in love with her and wants her for a wife. Shechem's father, Hamor sees this as a good idea; he thinks that arranging more marriages between Jacob's people and his own will facilitate the absorption of Jacob (and his wealth) into the city of Shechem.

Jacob's sons pull a cruel trick on Shechem and Hamor. They say that they will give Dinah if all the men of the city of Shechem are circumcised. Shechem and Hamor  agree, and everyone is circumcised.  Two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, slaughter all the men in the city while they are still weak. After that, the rest of Jacob's sons take all the women and children as captives and loot the wealth and animals.

Jacob gets angry at his sons,

Afterward Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have ruined me! You've made me stink among all the people of this land -- among all the Canaanites and Perizzites. We are so few that they will join forces and crush us. I wil be ruined, and my entire household will be wiped out!"

"But why should we let him treat our sister like a prostitue?" they retorted angrily.

And that's the end of the story. This is a weak condemnation of an atrocious horror. Without God's command, without the excuse of war, Jacob's sons murdered the men of a city and took their wives. Jacob seems more concerned with his reputation than the moral implications of what his sons did (admittedly, Jacob's concern is valid). Weak condemnation in a situation like this makes claims about the Bible's unambiguously good and moral nature suspect.

New Testament

Another prophecy supposedly fulfilled! Let's look at it in context. Today, Jesus claims that John the Baptist fulfills a prophecy from Malachi 3:1.

Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.

This one, in context, is more acceptable than usual. However, it does not fit completely. For example, this bit seems out of place:

[The one who follows the messenger] will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord.

Like in yesterday's reading, Jesus continues to come across as vindictive. In addition to saying that towns that did not repent after he visited them will be worse off than Sodom and Gomorrah, Jesus also prays

Oh Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it please you to do it this way.

Now, I imagine this passage gets used for advocating for a childlike faith and the like. In the context of the rest of today's reading, though, what sticks out is that Jesus is thankful that God hides information that could save people from hell.

Psalms and Proverbs

Today we come to a passage many Christians like to quote at atheists.

Only fools say in their hearts,
"There is no God."
They are corrupt, and their actions are evil;
not one of them does good!

Most often, when I have had this passage quoted at me, it has been to "show" how obviously God must be real because only fools deny God's existence. I will interrupt my normal commentary to present a little advice: do not quote this passage at atheists. Doing so will put the conversation on the wrong foot. It is a useless statement. The atheist does not believe in God and does not believe in the Bible. Therefore, quoting what the Bible says about the foolishness of those who do not believe in God will not change an atheist's mind.

Furthermore, realize that if you are a Christian and you quote this passage at an atheist, you are calling the atheist a fool, so do not deny it. You might try to hide behind the excuse that it is God, not you, calling the atheist a fool, but by choosing to quote this passage, you are endorsing its contents.

Also of note, if the first verse of the psalm reflects badly on atheists, the rest does not reflect well on Christians (or anyone else).

The Lord looks down from heaven
on the entire human race;
he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
if anyone seeks God.

But no, all have turned away;
all have become corrupt.
No one does good,
not a single one!

Jan 15

Reference links:

• Genesis 31:17-32:12
• Matthew 10:26-11:6
• Psalm 13:1-6
• Proverbs 3:16-18

• Overview of the Book of Genesis
• Overview of the Gospel of Matthew
• Overview of the Psalms
• Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Not too much to comment on today. Jacob decides to flee Laban with his wives, children, and possessions. Rachel steals her father's household idols. Laban chases them, but does not harm them because of a warning he received in a dream. Laban searches for his idols. He cannot find them because Rachel claims she cannot get off of her saddle because of her period. Jacob goes on for two paragraphs about how terribly Laban treated him. Laban and Jacob make a covenant to stay out of each others' way.

We then have an odd comment without context,

As Jacob started on his way again, angels of God came to meet him. When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, "This is God's camp!" So he named the place Mahanaim.

That's it. Angels of God came to meet Jacob and... what? We are left hanging. Were the angels just hanging out?

Jacob has to pass through the region where Esau lives. Remembering that he cheated Esau out of his birthright and blessing, hesends ahead messengers to try to smooth things over. The author gives us a cliffhanger, and we end today's reading seeing after learning that Esau approaches with 400 men.

New Testament

Today we see the less peaceful side of Jesus' teachings. I do not know if I would go so far as to call them violent, but they are certainly antagonistic.

But first, Jesus' views on pluralism. Some Christians believe that there are valid ways of worshiping God other than through Jesus, but that worshiping Jesus is the best and deepest way to connect with God. In this view, some non-Christians may go to heaven. This can come in degrees ranging from "those people are really worshiping Jesus, but just don't know it" to "Jesus is not the only way to get to heaven." I would interpret today's reading from Matthew as being in conflict with the more open pluralistic positions and, perhaps even the weaker ones.

Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.

Certainly, anyone who denies Christ is out of the picture. There is an implication that one must explicitly and publicly acknowledge Jesus to get into heaven. As with most Biblical passages, there is some wiggle room. This statement leaves room for an implied "but those who neither acknowledge nor deny me here on earth, I will neither acknowledge or deny before my Father in heaven".

Now onto the antagonistic passages:

Don't imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.

I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Your enemies will be right in your own household!

If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.

I have heard the last segment interpreted as meaning that love that is not mediated through God/Christ is inferior. Thus, it is okay to imply that Jesus should be loved more than family because if you love Jesus more than your family, you love your family more than you would if you didn't love Jesus (follow that?).

Within the context of the passage that interpretation becomes less relevant, if not completely unbelievable. Jesus must be followed and loved above all else or strife will ensue. In context, the last segment seems more like a threat than a loving statement.  To be fully fair, when I have seen this statement used in defense of the interpretation above, it has been of the form "here is this interpretation and here are verses X, Y, and Z which support it" rather than "given this passage and its context, here is how one can interpret it."

Actually, come to think about it, in today's reading, Jesus' tone is generally threatening.

Psalms and Proverbs

Today's psalm continues the patterns of psalms where the author feels abandoned but expresses faith that God will rescue them.

O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?
How long will you look the other way?
How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
with sorrow in my heart every day?
How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!
Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die

This psalm and the others like it provide comfort to believers because they show faith in the face of doubt, or so I guess. However, I see them more as evidence of the shaky ground that faith stands on. The struggle with doubt is really the main subject of psalms like these. The appeals to God's love and mercy feels tacked on, like the half-hearted fulfillment of a required statement.

Jan 14

Reference links:

• Genesis 30:1-31:16
• Matthew 10:1-25
• Psalm 12:1-8
• Proverbs 3:13-15

• Overview of the Book of Genesis
• Overview of the Gospel of Matthew
• Overview of the Psalms
• Overview of the book of Proverbs

For the record, I love having a Python script which generates the daily reading links for me.


Old Testament

Rachel agonizes over her inability to have children. To overcome her inability, she gives her maid Bilhah to Jacob. Bilhah has two sons, Dan and Naphtali. When Leah realizes she is no longer having children, she gives her maid, Zilpah, to Jacob. Zilpah gives birth to Gad and Asher. I know the culture was different and children were important, but, as usual, I wonder how voluntarily these wives gave their servants over to their husband and how the servants felt about it.

During a harvest, one of Leah's sons finds mandrake roots and gives them to his mother. Rachel wants them, and Leah agrees to exchange them for a chance to sleep with Jacob that night. Wikipedia on Mandrakes:

Mandrake is the common name for members of the plant genus Mandragora belonging to the nightshades family (Solanaceae). Because mandrake contains deliriant hallucinogenic tropane alkaloids such as hyoscyamine and the roots sometimes contain bifurcations causing them to resemble human figures, their roots have long been used in magic rituals

I do not know if Rachel wanted the drugs or wanted them for a magic ritual, but it was surely not a perfectly innocent desire. Contrary to semi-popular belief, the text does not imply Rachel used the mandrakes to cause her pregnancy. Rachel's pregnancy occurred years later after Leah had had two more sons, Issachar and Zubulun, and a daughter, Dinah (bringing the total to ten sons, one daughter). After Leah finishes having children, God answer's Rachel's prayers and she gives birth to her first and Jacob's eleventh son, Joseph.

In today's narrative, Jacob starts tiring of life as Laban's servant. Laban offers Jacob his wages, and Laban agrees to give Jacob all of the speckled, spotted, striped, or black sheep and goats. Before Jacob can separate them, Laban pulls a cheap trick and sends the marked animals to his sons.

Jacob prospers anyway; the number of marked animals grows. The reading gives two explanations for this and it is unclear whether we are supposed to believe both of them or just one of them.

Explanation one: Jacob practiced sympathetic magic.  He peeled striped of barks off branches making them stripped and put them in the water so that

when [the flocks] mated in front of the white-streaked branches, they gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted.

Explanation 2: Jacob tells Rachel and Leah that an angel told him in a dream,

Look up, and you will see that only the streaked, speckled, and spotted males are mating with the females of you flock.

The second explanation sounds more plausible given modern knowledge of genetics and reproduction. But it is described as a dream while the first is described as what happens. I will give the benefit of the doubt and guess that the story teller wants us to think that Jacob thought his magic was effective and later found out that it was a combination of God and selective breeding that did it.

New Testament

Today we meet the full slate of twelve apostles. The apostles were sent out to preach to the people of Israel (and only the people of Israel). They were to leave behind money, extra clothing, even walking sticks, but Jesus encouraged them to accept hospitality. Jesus also tells his disciples

Whenever you enter a city or village, search for a worthy person and stay in his home until you leave town. When you enter the home, give it your blessing. If it turns out to be a worthy home, let your blessing stand; if it is not, take back the blessing.

I am now confused about blessings. In our readings two days ago, Isaac accidently blesses Jacob instead of Esau. When Esau asks to be blessed too, Isaac says that Jacob has taken away Esau's blessing, implying that Isaac cannot take the blessing back. However, today we see Jesus saying that his disciples can take blessings back. How confusing.

Psalms and Proverbs

Same old, same old in today's reading from the Psalms. Today's Proverbs reading is pretty good though. A lot of Proverbs is good if you ignore the bits about God being the only source of wisdom and encouraging child beating and the like. But back to today's good stuff

Joyful is the person who finds wisdom,
the one who gains understanding.
For wisdom is more profitable than silver,
and her wages are better than gold.
Wisdom is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.

Jan 13

Reference links:

• Genesis 28:1-29:35
• Matthew 9:18-38
• Psalm 11:1-7
• Proverbs 3:11-12

• Overview of the Book of Genesis
• Overview of the Gospel of Matthew
• Overview of the Psalms
• Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Jacob goes to Paddan-aram so that he can escape Esau (remember, Jacob stole his blessing) and marry a daughter of his uncle (to avoid marrying one of the local women). Before going, Isaac blesses Jacob again. I guess he figured that since he had already blessed Jacob, he may as well continue.

Apparently, the family dislike of local women inspired Esau to go marry one of his uncle Ishmael's daughters. I guess it is good to see the less fortunate members of the family stick together.

Jacob dreams of God. God promises Jacob that Jacob will be blessed with many descendants and protected by God. Upon waking, Jacob made this vow to God:

If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food an clothing, and if I return safely to my father's home, then the Lord will certainly be my God.

These days, people claim that you must take a leap of faith and accept God. Here we see that Jacob sets out very specific and rather demanding conditions that he wants fulfilled before he takes the God of his father as his God. I think again what I thought when we read the story of Abraham's servant finding a wife for Isaac: if God really lived up to such strict standards (reliably, repeatedly, and without selectively ignoring dis-affirming evidence), then Christians would not need to make so many claims about leaps of faith.

Jacob arrives at the home of his uncle. He falls in love with his cousin Rachel and agrees to work seven years to earn her as his bride. After seven years, Jacob has fulfilled his duty, but Laban fools him and gives him Leah for a wife instead. Jacob, of course, reacts with rage. Laban agrees to also give him Rachel for seven more years of work. Rachel is given to Jacob, and he works for Laban for seven more years. I would say that this is another great fan fic opportunity, but it has already been done.

Unlike his father and grandfather, Jacob has no problem having children. Although his favorite wife, Rachel, has trouble conceiving, Leah's fertility cannot be doubted. Four children in today's narrative. Finally we see progress toward that promise of countless descendants.

New Testament

Today Jesus conducts more miraculous healings. The author of Matthew stresses that only the faithful are healed. It has not been made clear whether this is because Jesus only wants to heal the faithful or if it is because faith is required for healing to be effective.

Jesus healed a woman who had "suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding". Now, I once had my period last for three month, and it sucked. I can only imagine how miserable twelve years of bleeding must have been, especially in the days before nice absorbent sanitary pads.

Psalms and Proverbs

Nothing particularly noteworthy in today's readings.